UCLA Mindful vs Lightmood
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UCLA Mindful
Practice mindfulness meditation with guided sessions and educational content from UCLA Health. Learn to manage stress, reduce anxiety, and cultivate positive emotions through regular practice. Explore various meditation types, informative videos, and weekly recordings to enhance your well-being.
- Guided basic meditations
- Wellness meditations for health conditions
- Informative videos on mindfulness
- Weekly live/virtual meditation recordings
- Talks on mindfulness topics
- Customizable meditation timer
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With this easy-to-use app, you can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere, anytime with the guidance of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. Scientific research shows mindfulness can help manage stress-related physical conditions, reduce anxiety and depression, and cultivate positive emotions. Mindfulness is paying attention to our present moment experiences with openness and curiosity and a willingness to be with our experience. Through regular practice, taught through this app, you can develop a meditation practice and learn to bring more mindfulness into your daily life. This app offers: • Basic Meditations for getting started in multiple languages. Languages include Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Mixteco, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, American Sign Language • Wellness Meditations for people suffering from challenging health conditions • Informative videos exploring how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness • Weekly recordings from our live and virtual drop-in meditations -- a 30-minute meditation on different themes you can search for and bookmark • Talks on mindfulness-related topics • A timer to meditate on your own • A list of our current events and classes that you can add to your calendar UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health, is dedicated to advancing mindfulness education to promote individual and cultural well-being and resilience world-wide. Our mission is to provide innovative, evidence-based mindfulness programs that empower individuals and institutions to manage stress, enhance health, and cultivate inner and outer peace. Through educational programs, we strive to inspire transformative growth and contribute to a culture of compassion and wellness for all. Due to UCLA Mindful’s mission of radical accessibility, this app is entirely free to use. Disclaimer: These meditations are for educational purposes and are not clinical treatments.
Lightmood
This app offers a private space to track your mood, journal, and access therapeutic chat. It provides mood-based music playlists and interactive tools for mindfulness and habit tracking. Premium features include unlimited chat and in-depth insights.
- Mood check-ins and pattern tracking
- Therapeutic chat companion
- Mood-based music playlists
- Guided journaling prompts
- Interactive coping tools
- Habit tracking (sleep, hydration, learning)
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Lightmood is your pocket-sized companion for mood, music, and mindful moments. Built for Gen Z and anyone who needs a judgment-free space to process how they're feeling. Check in with your mood in seconds and watch your patterns unfold over time. Chat with a warm, therapeutic companion that's there when you need to talk through whatever's on your mind. Discover mood-based playlists curated to match your vibe — whatever you're feeling, there's a sound for it. Use guided journaling prompts to reflect, process, and grow at your own pace. Lightmood also includes interactive coping tools: a Procrastination Breaker to help you get moving, micro-journaling exercises, and audio-guided mindfulness sessions. Build custom routines from your favorite tools and track habits like sleep, hydration, and learning. Your privacy comes first. All data is securely stored and never shared. Premium unlocks unlimited chat, weekly mood insights, and full access to all coping tools. Download Lightmood today and start feeling a little lighter. Terms of Use (EULA): https://lightmood.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://lightmood.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: UCLA Mindful at none against Lightmood's 1. UCLA Mindful also leads on ratings volume (176 vs 4). Lightmood's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Lightmood sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. UCLA Mindful asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lightmood holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UCLA Mindful has 176 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | UCLA Mindful | Lightmood |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (176 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 176 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | UCLA Health | Alanis Rondon |
Bugs and requests
UCLA Mindful
Reported bugs
6 issues- 🐛 Loop repeat did not replay when screen is locked
- 🐛 Audio stops when iPhone screen locks/turns off
- 🐛 Back button disappears on search podcast tab
- 🐛 Search in previous podcast is slow to respond
- 🐛 Custom timer doesn't work as intended
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- 🐛 Meditations won't load (show 0 time)
Requested features
6 requests- Offline access/downloadable sessions
- More voice diversity (ethnicity and gender)
- Add to Apple Health for tracking mindful minutes
- Improve pausing points for Vietnamese meditations
- Remove the ding at the end of tracks
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- Wider selection of UCLA courses/Diana Winston meditations
Lightmood
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
UCLA Mindful
No in-app purchases
Lightmood
- Lightmood Premium$4.991 Month









